The Tragic Life of a Self Insert
by Nobody-XV
Summary: I haven't known happiness in years. I just want it all to stop. I don't really care if I live or die, so why is it I'm on a journey to save a virtual world with people that aren't supposed to exist? Self Insert. No my family is NOT dead. That's for drama.
1. Chapter 1: Ain't My Life Great?

__

_Fire blazing before my eyes. My house, my room... my family. Everything is caught in the inferno that I used to live in. Not anymore. Many people crowd outside, submerging me in even more heat. Screams come from no ones mouth but my own. Salty tears are quickly dropping from my eyes, and I don't bother trying to hide them. There would be no point. Firemen stormed the house, sprayed the death-trap near the base, but to no avail. My life is as good as over. When they all realize how swiftly the pyre is beginning to devour the surrounding area, the flames already licking at the apartment building next to it, they panic. Throughout this traumatic experience, the sky had been preparing to rescue us in its own way; rain. Every soul had been so utterly focused on the luminous two story building, burning bright and strong, that it came as a surprise when little droplets of cloud began to fall in there faces, dampening the hard cement, my sorrow left unnoticed, and dousing the burning hot cinders. After a few minutes, the rain began to spill faster, eliminating what remained of the disaster. I finally closed my eyes against the burn they felt, but instead of being greeted by darkness, all I saw was the orange, red and light blue of the flames that would cause me immense suffering as long as I continued to live. I could feel a sudden chill as the crowd split, allowing one of the men who arrived on the large red truck to approach me. He crouched down in order to look me in the eyes, to tell me he was sorry, to take me somewhere 'safe.' At this point, I really didn't care. I just wanted the pain in my heart to vanish. I could feel a slight pressure against my upper arm, my instincts telling me to fight back, my body too exhausted to listen. I just blindly followed in my grieving. I was set down in a hard seat, and quickly succumbed to the wonderful numbness of a blissful sleep._

* * *

"W...p."

What?

"Wa...up."

I don't understand.

"WAKE UP!"

SMACK!

"Owowowowowowowowowow," I mutter under my breath, rubbing the sore spot on my forehead where I smacked it on a shelf.

"Dad says you need to get up and make breakfast before school today, Katie," an older boy told her in a 'HA! I don't have to do it and YOU do!' kind of voice.

"Shut up, Cadince. I'll be out in a minute." I told him with a yawn. He gave a quick, jerky nod and ran out of my room. Most days, I would have put up a little more of a fight, but this one time, I was actually thankful to have been woken up during my lone escape from reality. I have the same dream once every few weeks, and I can never seem to forget the night that changed my entire future. The night my mom, dad, two older brothers, and younger twin brother and sister died in a bonfire we called our house. I was the sole survivor, only because I left for a short walk after having an argument with my parents and over something trivial, no less. That happened when I was only six years old, and now I'm just over fifteen.

Cadince, the boy who woke me up, is already eighteen. He has dark brown hair that is slicked back to his head and is cut at chin length. His eyes are similarly dark and blend in with his tanned skin. Though he isn't all that smart, he has quite a few friends and a girlfriend. I, on the other hand, am not so lucky. I have dark, sandy blond hair that goes down to my mid-back. I have luminous, orchid colored eyes that all but glow in my snow white skin. Cadince is 6 1", while I'm a meager 5 4". He is more brawn than brain, and I'm... well, smart. That leaves me to weigh a whole 72 pounds.

Ever since the incident, I've been living with my uncle and cousin on the other side of the United States. I have to do all the cooking, cleaning, yardwork, and anything else that may need to be done around the apartment buildings that my uncle owns and runs. Though its only an apartment, we have two floors of the main building for ourselves. In other words, twelve useless rooms for us to steal from someone who may be in desperate need of a place to live.

'My life is great' I say to myself, sarcastically of course. While all these thoughts run through the front of my mind, I slowly became aware that I had found my way to the medium sized kitchen, one of the few rooms that is never that hard to clean. Despite the large amount of money we make every month, due to some wise investments on my uncles part, we only have basic kitchen appliances. Except for the one that I would give anything to have; a dishwasher. Our kitchen is the only one without the convenience of not having to do the dishes by hand after every meal. Enraptured by all these negative thoughts, I failed to notice that my aforementioned uncle was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, one that he would be extremely unhappy with since he had been forced to make it himself.

"You're up late," he stated in a deceptively monotonous voice.

"Sorry," I apologize immediately, unthinkingly bowing my head and pleading for the next part to be over with swiftly. I blink and next when my eyes opened, he was standing an inch in front of me, looming a head and a half higher. He glared at me, and with unsuppressed anger, struck me across the right side of my face with the back of his hand. The blow was strong enough to knock me to the poorly tiled floor. Not long after I slid to a stop against a cabinet, I found he was standing in front of me once again. Pain exploded through my small frame, based at my ribcage. He aimed yet another kick at me, this time towards the face, but I've had enough. No, I've had TOO much. I grab his steel clad foot with both my hands and bring the assault to a stop... temporarily. Coming out of the sudden stupor my defense put him in a short few seconds later, he grabs me by the throat and lifts me off the floor. I squirm and writhe in his unrelenting grasp, trying with all my might to find purchase. Finally, I manage to stun him a second time with a hit to a certain area hard enough to permanently make him sterile. Once released from his careless and rough hands, I make a dash to my closet bedroom.

I am only allowed a twin size bed, a small bedside table for desk space and a closet, a lamp, and a chair. The room is a color just off of beige with matching sheets and pillow. There is a single hidden window directly under the corner of the ceiling, hidden under a piece of artwork used for a school project. Swiftly, I change out of my torn sweats and large, stained t-shirt into an outfit I saved up every penny I could in order to purchase from a vendor who was near me that dreadful night. It consisted of a midnight blue tank top that wasn't cut too low down my chest, and it travelled halfway down my thigh. I was also sporting a pair of black cargo pants that I customized to be worn like long shorts. On my feet was a pair of running shoes that were just off white. On each of my hands was a black fingerless glove that ended just before my elbow. As a keepsake, I wore my late mother's pendant around my neck, the gem nestled comfortably in my collar bone. I decided to leave my hair down in small waves, but slightly parted at the side so as to let my bangs cover my right eye, and hurriedly climbed on top of my bed and tore away the construction paper that was my school project. I push open the dust covered window and slide my way out onto the fire escape. Once secured, I all but fall down the steps and ladders down to the ally below.

Escape Status: Success

Or not.

Footsteps are approaching quickly, so I turn on my heel and sprint to the end of the gap between buildings and continue in a random direction. My heart is pounding in my ears and throat, my lungs are on fire, and if I look back to see if I'm still being pursued, it could mean my untimely death. I turn down one last street and come to a stop. Turning full circle, I allow myself a quick sigh of relief. Then an unfathomable pain hits my back and I fall face first onto the cement. The last image my mind managed to interpret for me was that of a man in white with unbelievably long, golden hair.

* * *

**Edit: I changed my outfit almost completely and corrected my spelling errors, but that's it.**


	2. Chapter 2: Introductions and Discoveries

****

**I shouldn't be doing this. I shouldn't be doing this. I _REALLY_ shouldn't be doing this. Okay, for those of you reading this and are disappointed in me for taking down a few of my stories, I'm _EXTREMELY_ sorry. I started those with tons of inspiration, but they all just kinda... died in my head. I said this in an early authors note in Another new beginning, but I don't really write story boards or anything ahead of time. I just type what comes into my head, I had two or three consecutive brain-farts. I recently played this game for the umpteenth time and was struck with a GIANT plot bunny. Now I just need to say a few things regarding the last chapter...**

**1: I don't only weigh 72 pounds. The reason story me does is because of malnutrition and an extremely abusive uncle.**

**2: Cadince is nothing but a bastard in real life and treats me like dirt just because he's a few years older than me. Its for this reason that I mostly avoid my family reunions or other get together and why no one outside the residents of my main households knows my parents have a daughter.**

3: None of my intermediate family are currently six feet under, in case you didn't see that in the summary. I only used that for dramatic effect and to give story Katie a reason for how she is.

**4: please leave a review. I won't continue a story if people aren't reading it. I also can't change anything to your liking if you don't let me know what's wrong in the first place.**

Sorry. I try not to make my authors notes this long.

Disclaimer: I forgot this last chapter, so sorry for those people this may directly affect. Though I own my copy of the game, I make no claims to have had any part in the creation of Tales of Symphonia. That falls directly under Namco and all other affiliates (sorry that I don't know you). I also earn no money from this story and am only writing for my own entertainment and that of others.

XoXoX

Chapter Two: Introductions and Discoveries

The first thing I noticed as I slowly came to awareness was the explosive pain all over my body, centered around my torso. The next thing that was able to catch my attention through the thick haze of sleep was the fact I was laying on soft, luscious green grass. My eyes immediately shot open and I quickly sat up, though my body protested. The world around me was spinning so for a few minutes I just sat there, disoriented. After finally being able to focus, I slowly examined my surroundings. Green grass, an ocean at the edge of a nearby cliff after a drop of I don't know how many feet. To my right, there was a large building that looked like some sort of temple. It sat high on the top of a steep hill, a lone staircase the only means to climb to the entrance. I didn't understand; where on earth WAS this! I lived in the middle of Detroit, Michigan and have for all but the first two years of my life. I would have known if there was something like this in the area. 'I guess I'm nowhere near uncle's house anymore,' I thought solemnly. That was another thing: mixed emotions. I wasn't sure if I was happy or sad to be away from them. Sure, I was mistreated, underfed, overworked, overpowered... where was I going with this? Right, should I be relieved or miserable? I may not have exactly been welcomed with open arms, but its what was familiar, though I could hardly call that hell hole my home.

Not knowing how I got to this beautiful, and strangely familiar place, I went over my most recent memories. First, I woke up and was told to get to work before attending school for the day. Nothing out of the ordinary in that. I didn't do something one hundred percent correct and was punished however my legal guardian saw fit; that happened more often than not. I guess the first abnormal thing was when I decided to fight back for the first time since I was still a child and was being brought away from the sheltered lifestyle my parents gave me. That's right... I fought my uncle for the first time in years and made my exit through the fire escape I had managed to keep hidden in my small room. Despite the grave situation, I gave myself a small smile for doing what I had previously deemed impossible. I had somehow found the courage to stand up for myself against one of the greatest evils I had ever known. That's when I remembered the person wearing white with blond hair. Who were they? I thought I'd seen them before, but the information was dancing just outside my mind and I couldn't quite manage to call the memory out. I decided I had better not dwell on it and find out where I was.

I stood slowly and waited to move. My knees buckled and I was afraid that if I started to walk, I'd collapse again and be unable to get back up. After a while, I was confident enough that my legs could hold the rest of me up off the ground, and I made my way towards the long stone steps leading up to the ancient looking structure on the hillside. Just when I was about to begin my agonizing climb, I saw two figures descending the staircase and coming towards me. Two boys, I decided. One looked to be right around my age. He was wearing red boots, black pants with brown suspenders and two brown belts crossing in the front, red gloves and a red coat with many white buttons that matched his boots, and white ribbons dangling behind him at the neck. He was slightly tanned with brown eyes and spiky hair to match. He appeared to be only a few inches taller than myself, I would guess around 5 8" or 5 9". He also carried two swords, one on each side of his waist.

The other was younger, maybe eleven or twelve years old and only around 4 6". He was clothed in blue and black boots that ended half way up his shins, sky blue shorts with white trim, a matching shirt and short sleeved jacket and two buckles hanging in the front. He was light skinned, with blue eyes and sliver hair that ended mid back and was spiked at the tips. He carried a kendama in his right hand.

Neither one took notice of me as the chatted animatedly, and I stood there watching silently, waiting to see what would happen. As the pair neared the bottom, the boy with silver hair finally took notice of me. A look of surprise crossed his face, replaced quickly with contempt. "Who are you?" he asked, voice laced with suspicion.

"Traditionally, someone is supposed to give their name before asking the same of others," I said with a hint of sarcasm. I didn't quite get the reaction I wanted from him, though the other one looked a bit shocked.

"Hey! You stole my line!" he exclaimed in mock irritation. I could clearly tell he was amused. I tried hard to keep a straight face, but I couldn't help the slight lift in the corner of my lips that formed a small grin full of humor. I could already tell the two of us would get along just fine. I figured it didn't matter in the end who gave their name first, the end result would be the same. I chose to be the bigger person.

"My name is Katie. How about you?" I tagged onto the end.

"I'm Lloyd. And this is Genis," he stated while gesturing accordingly. Good, now that we all knew each other...

"Sorry to ask this, but I'm kinda lost. Could you tell me where this is?" I asked sweetly, hoping beyond hope that I could get an answer.

"You don't know where this is?" Lloyd asked in disbelief. That certainly gave me information... NOT!

"Not really... I'm drawing a blank here. I don't know where this is or even how I got here," maybe if I kept up an act I'd get somewhere.

"This is the Martel Temple just outside of Iselia." Genis told me after studying my expression. He probably wanted to know if I was lying. It's a good thing that I wasn't. I honestly had no idea where this was, and I got straight A's in school. I took AP World Studies one and I'd never heard of a place called Iselia. I was also unfamiliar with the temple. I couldn't recall if any of the less common religions worshipped a goddess Martel...

Wait a minute. Everything clicked into place in my head at once; Martel Temple, Iselia, Lloyd, Genis... All of them were from a game I'd heard so much about from Cadince: Tales of Symphonia. He had been obsessed with it recently. He had just gotten Dawn of the New World for his Wii and had been playing it and the first one constantly for nearly two months. Who would've thought that the demon spawn I called cousin could be useful? I sure hadn't. I needed to remember to thank him when I got back. That is, IF I got back. I had no idea how I'd managed to get myself stuck in a video game, but I knew one thing for sure. I could probably only get back to Detroit the same way I got dumped out here. I had a sneaking suspicion that the person I saw before I blacked out had something to do with my situation.

"I don't know my way to the village. Do you think you could take me there?" I politely requested. If I had the storyline correct after all the time I had spent watching Cadince play, I'd picked up a few things... like the entire plotline for both games. I thought Colette had just recieved the oracle and gotten her Cruxis Crystal. Awe, that means that I had just missed Kratos. That really sucked because he was one of my favorite characters in th video game world. At least as far as Nintendo went; Sony was an entirely different story.

"Sure. We were just heading there anyway," Lloyd gladly accepted my request. That did much to back up my theory on us becoming fast friends. Genis, on the other hand, I wasn't so sure about. In the game he acted like a know it all and, sorry Zelos, a total brat. I knew about his past and that he was a half elf and of course he had reasons to hate humans aside from Lloyd and Colette, but he didn't have to glare at me constantly. At least he hadn't-

"Are you sure that's a good idea Lloyd?" he asked doubtfully. I'd thought too soon. I sighed quietly to myself, preparing an irrefutable reason as to why I wouldn't be a hinderance to them in any way, shape or form.

"I'm sorry to have suddenly sprung this on you, but Lloyd said you were heading in that direction already. Besides, I know how to fight, so you wouldn't need to be my body guard or anything of the sort. Though I understand completely if you refuse. But could you at least point me in the right direction?" That should do it. I've found through experiance that if given an option, someone is more likely to accept a request because then the other person doesn't seem nearly as desperate.

"I guess it wouldn't be all that bad to bring you with us," the half elf caved. My plan worked like a charm.

"Thank you so much for your help!" I said sincerely. If I didn't go with them, I'd probably manage to get myself even more lost than I already was and I'd never find the person in white and get back to earth. In response to my thanks, Genis continued to glare at me and proceeded to run off, going right past the temple.

"C'mon!" Lloyd shouted at me excitedly after several awkward moments as made a mad dash in order to catch up with his best friend. As soon as I realized the both of them were running back, I began my own sprint. Its lucky for me that I'd been pretty athletic and participated in the school sports frequently.

"Wait!" I called in front of me while trying to supress my laughter. Running always made me giddy, for some strange reason. Despite my speed, Lloyd had longer legs and an exsphere while Genis had gotten quite the head start. I let my thoughts drift as the cool breeze blew my hair every which way and stung my bright colored eyes. I started to wonder how I would ever manage to join them on the journey of world regeneration. That would be an accomplishment.

Strangely enough... I couldn't wait.

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and leave a review with any praise or complaints you may have. Until next chapter - JA MATA NE**

**~Nobody-XV**


	3. Chapter 3: Why Did This Happen?

**I will let you all know now in case you haven't been able to figure it out yet... I don't have an update schedule. I update whenever I finish a chapter and proofread it. I apologize for any poor spelling. I do the best with what I have to work with. I don't have Microsoft office and have resorted to using the spell check that's here on FF . N, so PLEASE let me know if you see mistakes. I don't have a beta and I would appreciate it lots! As I said in the note last chapter, I won't make them all unnecessarily large. Please enjoy the chapter after this brief disclaimer:**

**Disclaimer: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I don't own anything.**

**Thank you**

**XoXoX**

Chapter Three: Why Did This Happen?

I don't mean to sound like a lame little kids show or a teacher or anything else, but raise your hand if you thought Iselia would be small. I mentally raised my hand to be level with my head. I had thought along those lines... Until I had actually GOTTEN to the village. We had just arrived after a long run from the Martel Temple that resided north west of where we were currently standing, and my jaw had inconspicuously dropped to the ground. There were definitely more than the seven or so buildings it had showed in the game, that's for sure. The basic structure was the same, though, I could be wrong. Even though it was no where nearly as large as the city I lived in, it was by no means minuscule.

Despite its stature, Iselia was still quaint. The houses and shops were well built and decent in size. Of course, there were more trees here than what I was used to, but I didn't mind nature in the least. I preferred Oxygen over the conveniences of the city I wasn't allowed to have because my uncle was greedy. From what I'd seen so far, Sylvarant wasn't that bad off if we could just eliminate the Desians...

I was kidding myself. Even if the human ranches were put out of commission, Tethe'alla would still be receiving all the mana until the seals were either reversed or the two worlds were joined together. That was another thing that had managed to slip my mind at first. How would my presence here effect things? I had already interacted with two of the main characters and was probably holding them up, preventing them from eavesdropping on the conversation between the Mayor, Raine, Kratos, Phaidra, Frank and Colette, as well as seeing their final best friend on her birthday. That was pretty selfish of me, so I decided to dismiss myself.

"Thank you both so much for your help. I owe you one," I said with false cheer. I planted a too big grin on my face in hopes it would scare the two guys away and see their sacrificial friend.

"What do you plan on doing now?" Lloyd asked me curiously. Curse him and his kindness.

"I'm probably just going to go rent a room at the inn for now and stock up on some items. I'm going to be leaving sometime tomorrow... Probably," I added on a bit sheepishly. I really had no idea what I was going to do. I didn't have any gald on me, so I couldn't afford a room OR supplies. All I knew was that if the oracle happened today, that meant Genis hadn't taken Lloyd to see Marble yet. The scene with the exbelua happened the day after the oracle, just after Lloyd finds out Colette lied to him about their departure time. I had to find a way to get on everyone's good side so I could travel with them and possibly get some info while helping them in every way I could.

"Well, it was nice meeting you!" Lloyd said to me enthusiastically, holding his hand out to me in a friendly gesture with a goofy smile on his face. I cringed ever so slightly at the contact I made, not at all used to human touch when it wasn't causing me pain.

"Same. Again, thank you for your help. I hope we can meet again sometime!" I told him, once again sincere. I really did hope I got to see Lloyd, Genis and everyone else again. With that all said and done, I turned swiftly on my heel, glad that we hadn't run into any monsters in our eagerness to find civilization, and darted down the middle road, towards where I believed the Inn would be based entirely off of prior knowledge.

It was harder to find than I thought. Had I forgotten to mention that everyone here was speaking Japanese? It was fine with me because I could speak fluently enough, but reading was an entirely different subject. They always Incorporated too many Chinese characters that I didn't yet know. After several minutes of panicked reading, I found a sign with the character for sleep. I approached the door and just stood their, contemplating. I didn't have a whole lot of options at this point. I could either go in and explain that I had no gald and see if there was anything I could do in exchange for a night there, or I could camp outside the village for the night and fight monsters... Without any hesitation, I pushed open the door and stepped inside.

The smell of home cooking filled my nostrils as soon as I took a breath. It smelled a little like the beef stew I had made back on Earth, but something was off. It smelled like there were a few too many onions. Slowly and silently, I approached the desk and cautiously rang the bell that sat there so tauntingly. While I waited for someone to help me, I observed the inside of the place more thoroughly. It was much larger than the game made it seem. To my left was a hallway with two or three doors on the wooden walls. To my left was a closed door. There were sounds coming from inside, so I assumed that to be the kitchen. I continued to look around at all the small trinkets and paintings that lined the walls. This Inn definitely had a homey feel to it.

After a few more minutes of me curiously exploring the room I entered, a young woman came and stood behind the desk. She had pretty, light brown hair and deep brown eyes with tan skin covered in flour. She looked to be in her early to mid twenties.

"Can I help you?" she asked kindly. Hey, maybe she would accept my offer?

"Yes, actually," I started. "I was wondering if I could rent a room for the night?"

"Of course. Is it just for you?" she asked back.

"Yeah, but I have a minor problem..." I trailed off. When she cocked her head to the side in question, I continued to explain my dilemma. "You see, I kinda don't have any gald and-" I froze in my tracks when her face suddenly darkened.

"Get out if you can't pay," she said menacingly. I began to hurriedly plead my case.

"It's not that I want a room for free, it's not! I was just wondering if I could work or something in exchange for the lodging!" burst out of my mouth. I wasn't going to lie and say I was robbed or anything, so I prayed that would be enough for one night.

"..." The woman didn't say anything for several long, agonizing seconds, until she finally decided to humor me.

"You can stay the night in the last room down that hall over there," she indicated with her index finger as she went on. "You will need to help with the cooking and cleaning... If you can," she ordered skeptically.

"I can do both fairly well," I informed her.

All she did was nod and follow up with a "Get to work," before she turned and walked down the hall to what I assumed was her own room. I was correct earlier in thinking someone had been in the process of preparing beef stew. I had also been correct in guessing there were too many onions. What I hadn't expected, however, was the stench being enough to nearly incapacitate me as soon as I opened the door. With a long, stress filled sigh, I began my 'chores.' I had to completely remake the broth using nothing but the meager food supply found in the cupboards, but that was nothing new. After the hours of standing over an open cooking fire, I could finally release myself from the heat and start the cleaning.

Cleaning, even though the technology here was primitive, wasn't all that tedious of a job, which surprised me. All I needed to do was simply wet an old rag I'd found and wipe the dust off everything. That couldn't have taken any longer than another hour. With that, I had finished my payment for the nights room and received a key to the door farthest back down the hall I had noticed upon entry of the building. I tucked the key in one of my many pockets and walked out the front door so I could familiarize myself with Iselia before leaving for I don't know how long.

When I stepped outside and closed the door behind me, I was greeted with silence. Not a speck of dirt was kicked into the atmosphere, no leaves bristling in the wind. Nothing. It was strange and unrecognizable to someone raised like I was. I grew up around car horns sounding in the road, car radios blasting different types of music, and a multitude of profanities being shouted from person to person. This was definitely a change, but a pleasant one that I may actually be thankful for.

I stood just outside the door in a daze, thinking, comparing Sylvarant to Earth. Both could be considered to be in similar situations, I suppose. Sylvarant was currently in a hazardous state, lacking the mana to support itself. Earth's state of being was still being debated. No one knew for sure if we were causing it's downfall or if it was a natural occurrence. Unlike here, we didn't have four thousand year old seraphs controlling us like puppets.

I hadn't noticed that I'd begun to walk, too immersed in my thoughts to care much. Before I knew it, the sky had darkened considerably from the bright blue it was when I had woken in the field outside the church. In a hurry, I made my way back towards my temporary place of residence. I swiftly opened the door, stepped inside, and closed myself inside. I did all this, but not before I noticed the flashes of white, purple, orange and blue by Iselia's southern exit.

They must be going to Dirk's house to see Lloyd,' I mused. Wow... Kratos didn't know for a fact that his only family was still alive. I felt kind of sorry for him and could sympathize quite easily. Sure, I hadn't been completely left alone in the world like he had, but we'd both witnessed the deaths of people that we had loved. I walked away from the door and took my time in getting to my room for the night. I shoved the key into the lock, turned ninety degrees clockwise, and pushed open the door. There weren't any lights, I had expected as much. Up against one of the walls was a thin mattress with a night stand next to it. On the far side of the room was an open window with a screen covering the hole.

I had yet to see a bathroom, so it was probably an outhouse sitting behind the place. Not finding the strength of mind to care at the moment, I made my way to the bed and sat down. I first removed my shoes and socks, followed by my gloves. I felt 'off ' when I wasn't wearing the Sapphire around my neck, so I left that on, if only for the feeling of normalcy. I then tucked myself into the bedspread, relaxed instantly in the warmth, and fell fast asleep within minutes.

XoXoX

There was a knocking on my bedroom door. It had been sounding for several minutes now, but Cadince had yet to barge in and pounce on me like he did almost every morning as my personal alarm.

"Miss?" he called through the- wait, what? Last time I'd heard, his voice wasn't feminine and he couldn't stand formalities. Who was knocking on my door, then? Never mind, it didn't matter.

"Yes?" I called back.

"It's almost time for checkout!" she let me know. Checkout? And then it hit me. I wasn't in my bedroom. I wasn't even in Detroit, or on EARTH. I was in Sylvarant, more specifically, Iselia Village's Inn. It was still so strange I could barely manage to wrap my head around it.

"I'll be out in a few minutes, thank you!" I told her as I sat up. I spun off the thin comforter and slid my shoes back onto my feet, pulled my gloves back on and ran my fingers through my thin blond hair. I was lucky I hardly ever needed to brush my hair, otherwise most of the time I'd end up looking like a complete mess at school or other places I may have needed to go for some reason. I located the room key and exited my room, locking the door behind me. I set the key quietly on the desk and left the building.

I was shocked to see how high the sun was already. It had to be at. . . Least. . . Noon. . . . . .

Crap.

Crap crap crap. Holy SHIT!

It was almost time for the Desians to invade and Lloyd and Genis to be exiled as a result. I had no idea what I was going to say to convince them to take me with. If I couldn't do it now, I would never get another chance. My thoughts continued to spiral downward, until-

"Watch it, you inferior being!" Someone belted into my left ear. Can you say OW!

"Sorry," I murmured a quiet apology instantly, even though he was the one calling me an 'inferior being ' ... Damn. I looked up and, what do you know! I'm face to face with a Desian. How had I not seen him sooner? His outfit stuck out like a sore thumb. He was almost as conspicuous as Lloyd was, and I hadn't seen him standing right in front of me. I went to move straight past him, only to be met with a crossbow pointed at my head.

"Move it!" he shouted at me, again in my left ear. When I didn't even flinch at the threatening aura he emitted, he prodded me in the head several times, urging me back the way I had come. Some time later, I found myself in the middle of a group of the villagers. It was obvious they were all scared out of their wits, otherwise I'm sure one of them would be questioning this situation to make sure it was justified. Though I myself doubted anything the Desians did could be called that. No, definitely not. Not long after my silent monologue did they decide to set fire to the town in order to bring a certain main character out of hiding. It worked.

I could see Lloyd in the crowd to my left. I could see he went around to the school and saved the villagers who had managed to avoid capture.

"Listen up, inferior beings!" a voice shouted over the roar of the crowd. "I am Forcystus, one of the Desian Five Grand Cardinals. I am a superior half-elf who rules over the farm where we cultivate you pathetic humans." He seemed so smug and self important, it almost made me sick. Almost.

"Lloyd!" He continued to shout out, drawing every eye to his profile. "You, a human, have been found guilty for the crime of violating the non-aggression treaty. Therefore, I bring judgment upon you and this village!" he finished proudly. Yeah, because you torturing humans is so much better.

Genis shouted from somewhere in the large crowd. "You violated the treaty, too! You tried to murder the Chosen!" Wow... He sounded pissed.

While Genis was fuming, Forcystus looked confused and a bit amused. One of the Desians, the captain probably, spoke up in order to mock the young 'elf.' "Us? Kill the Chosen? Hahaha! I see now. They must be after the Chosen." he said this like it was the absolute funniest thing in all of existence. To him, it might have been.

Now Lloyd spoke for the first time during this entire confrontation. "They? Are you saying you aren't the ones that attacked Colette?" Lloyd asked, unaware that it was the Renegades that attacked the temple.

Forcystus, stuck up as ever, said in a tone full of disdain "I have no need to explain myself to the likes of you." If looks could kill, the glare he was giving Lloyd would have him six feet under the ground he stood on. "The only thing that matters is that you, Lloyd Irving, have been in contact with host body F192 and attacked our guards."

Now it was the head cowards turn to add in his two cents. "What have you done! How many times have we told you to stay away from the ranch!" His anger exploded from the giant, gaping hole on his face and Lloyd flinched away from the accusations.

". . . I'm sorry," Lloyd stated, trying his hardest to not allow his voice to crack. Poor him, since he hadn't done anything wrong. I think this whole scene is covered in the second game when Emil and Marta reach Iselia the first time and talk with the ass hole authority figure. The conversation mentioned using one life to save a thousand or vise verse. An entire argument occurred over it and Emil had the same view about saving all thousand and one. This just made me mad.

"We've prepared an appropriate opponent for your crime." Forcystus proclaimed. I couldn't wait until we got to blow up their ranch. Right as that thought crossed over the front of my mind, the exbelua that used to be an old woman named Marble or 'host body F192' appeared, being led through the back gate.

"What... What is that thing?" Lloyd asked, a hint of fear creeping into his voice. I could tell by the way his voice started to break.

"Now receive your punishment!" Forcystus shouted out just as the exbelua swiped one of its overly large arms at the brunette. Lloyd blocked the attack with his arms crossed in front of himself, and the mayor stumbled backwards in order to escape the brawl.

"Damn! Lloyd exclaimed in anger and frustration at his predicament.

"Lloyd! I'll help, too!" Genis yelled out as the crowd broke slightly so he could make his way to the front. I couldn't just stand here cowering while two kids fought for this village full of people that couldn't stand the very sight of them anymore.

I pushed my way to the front and into the clearing where the action was happening. "I'll lend you a hand," I said, a little scared but sure of my decision. I knew the creatures attacks pretty well and was sure that I could do something to help.

"K - Katie?" Lloyd stuttered, surprised by my sudden appearance. I simply smiled sadly back at him in response. I hoped that I wouldn't be a nuisance to the two fighters.

"Why do you want to help?" Genis asked, also probably shocked by the overall situation.

"This isn't right," was all I had time to say as a response, because before I could add any more, the exbelua continued its rampage. I made a fist and spread my feet in anticipation. Lloyd ran forward with his wooden swords drawn. Swiping across the monsters mid section with his left sword, following up with his right and stabbing with his left, he began the battle. Genis had started casting one of his spells, aqua edge most likely. The color of the ruin under his feet was blue, making it a water spell. I ran up next to Lloyd and punched the creature upward with my left arm, then my right in a continued pattern. My goal had been to distract the thing, but I wound up knocking it off balance. I was so surprised that I froze for a moment. I would have remained that way if I hadn't seen a blob of green coming down towards my head.

"Look out!" Lloyd call as I dodge rolled right of the oncoming attack. Genis finally completed his spell and three or four water jets shot out of nowhere and hit the former Marble in the face, more specifically, in the eyes. With our opponent temporarily blinded, Lloyd and I ran up and started a merciless assault. He would attack with an upper slash combo and when he stopped, I continued with a series of punches and kicks. He would take over whenever I needed to take a moment to catch my breath, and this pattern continued so the monster didn't have a chance to recover or attack. Genis threw in a variety of occasional spells, always hitting their mark.

After a few minutes, it grabbed it's head like it was in pain, and I knew what was coming. Lloyd was currently approaching to attack once again, and he wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time. "Shit!" escaped my hoarse throat as I full out sprinted across the large clearing to pull Lloyd out of the way. I caught up to him just as a purple swirl formed on the ground beneath his feet. I jumped with all the strength I could push into my legs and tackled him to the ground a few feet away.

You've gotta love adrenaline rushes.

"Thanks. I guess we're even now," the red clad teen said with a small chuckle before climbing back onto his feet and offering me a hand to help me up. I didn't hesitate in getting back up, because right now Genis was alone and fighting a monster much, much bigger and stronger than he was. I didn't respond to his thanks just yet and charged head first back into the fray.

When I was close enough, I jump as high in the air as I could and brought my foot down on its head, using my momentum to add power to the simplistic attack. Lloyd simultaneously hit the creature with a sword rain and Genis struck with one of his wind blades. The combination seemed to do the trick and the poor ex-human fell to the ground in front of us.

Forcystus started to walk forward and Lloyd hit him with a completely unexpected demon fang. One of his underlings ran out and blocked his 'Lord' from further attack.

"Lord Forcystus! It's just as you thought, that boy has an exshpere!" the captain exclaimed loudly.

"It must be the one from the Angelus Project that we've been searching for," he responded heatedly. He then turned towards Lloyds general direction. "Give it to me," he demanded.

"No!" he shouted back instantly. "This is a memento of my mom's, who you Desians murdered!" This scene always affected me negatively whenever I heard it.

"What are you talking about? Your mother was-"

"Shut up!" I yelled at him, not taking the time to think about any consequences my outburst may have. "What do you know? You torture humans for a living. And who know? Maybe you do it for fun, too!" I shouted out. I couldn't stand any of the Grand Cardinals. They were always so full of themselves, and now that I had a chance to voice my rage, I wasn't going to waste it. "What you do is sick and wrong. Sure half elves are treated worse than dirt, but two wrongs don't make a right! Be the bigger person!" I had wanted to say that since I had first watched this scene. Unjustified hatred had never made any sense to me.

Paying far to much attention to my ranting, we all failed to notice a certain being climb to its feet and make its way over to us. It wasn't until the thing was wrapped around the Green haired half elf that we realized we lacked the means to kill anything. Then the voice of a kind old woman came out of seemingly nowhere.

"Run... Away... Genis, Lloyd!" The voice said. I seemed to be the only one to realize right away that what we had just fought was using all its remaining strength to defy those that changed it.

"Who... What was that voice? It... Sounded like..." C'mon Genis. Use that large brain of yours and make the connection! I urged him mentally. "Marble?..." That's it...

"It can't be!" Lloyd denied profusely. If only it would do any good.

"Uh... Ugh... Guh!" the voice managed to choke out. "Get away... Hurry!..." The voice wheezed out. Please, not this scene. "Genis... You were like a Grandson to me. Thank you." Please don't do this, Marble. If you die, I won't be able to reign in the veil of water that is currently over my eyes. "Good-bye..." With that said and done, it-no, SHE proceeded to self destruct causing some serious damage to the Desian soldiers and their leader. My eyes were following a round jewel that only stopped when it hit a blue boot that Genis was wearing.

"Ugh!" Someone shouted in dramatized agony. I spun around and saw Forcystus grabbing at his side in order to stop the bleeding.

"No!" The captain yelled out in shock. "Protect Lord Forcystus!" The soldiers obeyed without complaint and helped their hero and commanding officer to his feet.

"Lloyd..." Forcystus gasped out. After composing himself, he continued menacingly. "We will always come after you as long as you possess that exsphere. ALWAYS!" He shouted while being hoisted back to where they came from.

"M-Marble..." I heard Genis whisper while looking at the blue sphere he held in his hands. "Marble!" He shouted out, eyes widening at a sudden revelation. "Marble! NO!" After several moments of heart wrenching silence, the town leader spoke.

"What have you done! Look! Look what happened to our village! Its all your fault!" he shouted directly at Lloyd, completely ignoring Genis and myself.

"I'm sorry..." Was all Lloyd could force out of his mouth, in a voice no louder than a whisper. He really was far too kind for his own good, seeing as he hadn't done anything to warrant what was coming within the next few minutes.

"You think you can fix this by apologizing!" the mayor shouted into the teens face. Lloyd visibly shrunk. "The Desians marked you as their enemy! As long as you are here, this village will never be at peace. Do you understand?" Genis took this as his cue to protect his best friend.

"Wait a minute! You're going to exile him?" the kid asked, anger blazing behind ice blue orbs.

"Yes," the mayor replied in a monotone.

"That's not fair!" he yelled like a little kid throwing a temper tantrum. "Lloyd didn't do anything wrong! He just saved marble..." Now he was trying for a guilt trip. He just happened to overlook one small detail...

"Any involvement with the ranch is forbidden. There are no exceptions." he said coldly.

"So it's okay to let people die at the human ranch as long as the village is safe!" Genis continued to argue. He, once again, made a good point, but one thing is needed for arguments like that one to work.

One of the village women replied to this statement. "The people at the ranch are just going to rot there anyway."

"Yes." The mayor stated cryptically. "Had you not done something so stupid, they'd have been the only ones that died.

That's what the mayor and some of the villagers lack. In order for guilt to work, one must have a conscience.

"You humans are all the same..." Genis muttered spitefully.

"Genis..." I spoke up just as quietly. "There's no point. He made up his mind a long time ago." He just kept looking mournfully at the dirt under his feet.

"That's enough Genis. This... Was my fault," Lloyd spoke up and turned to face the mayor. "I'll leave," he concluded.

"Mayor..." The woman I recognized as the Inn keeper said. "Surely you don't have to be so strict on a child?" she inquired.

"What are you saying!" Yet another villager piped up. "Do you realize how many people died here because of him!"

Genis decided to make one last attempt at saving Lloyd. "Its not Lloyd's fault! I'm the one who took him to the ranch, so its my fault!"

"But its Lloyd the Desians are after," the mayor quipped. "And besides, Lloyd isn't from this village to begin with. He's an outsider, raised by a dwarf."

"Then I'm leaving, too." Genis said in submission. "I'm just as guilty as he is."

"Genis..." Lloyd said in mild shock.

"I'm guilty as well," I said seemingly out of nowhere. Genis gaped in unsuppressed astonishment. I looked the mayor in the eyes and said "I fought the Desians as well, making me a target." There were a few minutes that passed by without a sound to be heard, when finally the mayor reached a verdict.

"Fine then," he said unemotionally. "By the rights vested in me as mayor, I hereby announce the banishment of Lloyd, Genis and-" He stopped talking suddenly, realizing he was missing an important piece of information.

"My name is Katie," I supplied with the same, uncaring attitude he possessed.

"And Katie from the village of Iselia," the old geezer went on as though he hadn't ended his last sentence abruptly. The silence that should've followed friends leaving their home to never return disappeared almost instantly when a chorus of "Get out!" ensued from the spectators of the 'event.'

The three of us all bowed our heads in silent apology as we made our way to the back gate. As soon as we were outside the village, the jeers quieted. Before we could even walk ten feet away, someone called our names. We turned to see a small, older woman motioning us forward. Next to her was a fairly tall man with bright blond hair. They must be Frank and Phaidra; Colette's family.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble." Lloyd apologized as soon as we were next to the pair, Genis and I nodding our heads in agreement.

"If you feel that way, please catch up to the Chosen and protect her." Phaidra requested of us. "If in doing so, the world is saved, surely everyone will change their minds about you."

"For I'm sure Colette would want that as well," Frank told him.

"... Yes. I will atone for what I've done. I swear to protect Colette for the sake of those who have died because of me." Lloyd said with misery laced all through his words, filling them with complete sincerity.

"I'll follow you, Lloyd. Its my fault that you were banished. So I promise to stick by you always," Genis said faithfully. They were just like how brothers behaved after getting through the I'm-going-to-slit-your-throat-with-a-spoon phase.

"What are you going to do, Katie? You said you were planning on staying here, right? But that kinda..."Lloyd started out, curious about my plans.

"I was actually wondering if I could join the two of you. I don't have anywhere else to go, and I'm willing to do almost anything if it means bringing down Forcystus," I said honestly. He may have been my favorite out of the Grand Cardinals, but that didn't mean I was incapable of hating him. I just happened to hate him LESS than the other four.

"I don't mind at all. I think we could use all the help we can get. What about you, Genis?" he directed the question to the silver haired boy standing next to him and slightly in front of me.

"..." He seemed to be deep in thought, weighing all the options. "Its a good idea. She seems to be alright, as far as humans go... No offense Lloyd." he seemed to add as more of an after thought more than anything else.

"Thank you. I really appreciate this," I told them.

"Then take this with you," Phaidra directed towards me. In one hand, she held a large dagger, and in the other was a bag with what I assumed were supplies. "They will help you in times of danger, I hope," she said as she pushed the items into my hand.

"Have a safe journey you three," Frank said in farewell. We said our good-byes swiftly and headed south.

"Say Genis." Lloyd said suddenly after we had walked for a few minutes. "Why don't you use that exsphere? That's Marble's memento." he informed the half-elf.

"...Okay..." Genis answered after staring at the stone in silence for a short while.

"I'll explain to you how to use the key crest later. After all, it looks like its going to be a long journey."

Yeah, it certainly was. I wasn't entirely sure how I'd ended up traveling with two of the games main characters because I hadn't planned on it going this way, but I had accomplished what I had thought nearly impossible. I found a way to travel (possibly) with the world regeneration group without having to come up with a faulty story that was more than likely going to bite me in the ass later on. Take THAT fanfiction! But despite how fortunate I had been so far, excluding the banishment, I was kind of worried. Luck had to run out eventually, so it was only a matter of time before mine did. The only question left was when.


	4. Chapter 4: Follow the Brown Dirt Road

**I don't have all that much to say. Sorry if this chapter seems rushed and for the seemingly random and terrible fight scene. I'm no good at writing them yet, but I'm practicing. This particular one isn't out of the blue either.**

**XoXoX**

Chapter Four: Follow the Brown Dirt Road

"Where are you from, Katie?" Lloyd decided to ask me out of the blue during our third day of traveling in what was almost complete silence.

"Does it matter?" I asked skeptically, trying to dodge the question.

"Sure it does. We're going be traveling together for a while, so we might as well learn something about you," the drifting swordsman said. I merely sighed in response.

"I don't really come from anywhere," I started, then paused, hoping that answer would suffice. It didn't.

"How can you not come from anywhere?" Genis asked me, breaking into the conversation. Though he probable still didn't like me, I guess the small half elf trusted me a little more since I had helped fight the Desians back in the village.

"Well, I don't have any family, so I don't have ties to one specific place," I informed. Hey, I actually managed to tell the truth without having to tell the truth, if that makes any sense. I was going to be one hell of a liar after the world regeneration.

"What happened to your family?" Lloyd asked.

"They all died in a house fire when I was six."

"So that means you've been by yourself for..." He paused momentarily, counting numbers on his fingers. "Wait, how old are you?" He asked. I guess he realized he couldn't do the math without my current age.

"I just turned fifteen a few months ago," I said, waiting for him to finish calculating.

"You've been alone for eleven years!" The 'Genius' exclaimed rather loudly.

"No, it's been nine years Lloyd," Genis told his friend, the words accompanied by an eye roll. I giggled quietly in response to their antics. They were really close. They were arguing just like siblings.

"Enough about me, what about you two," please let this attempt be successful.

"What about us?" Lloyd wondered... VICTORY! I performed a little dance number in my head before speaking again.

"What are your home lives like?" I asked in return, coordinating it with their question to me.

Genis was the first to answer. "I live with my sister Raine back in the village. Or, I did anyway," He said as he dropped his gaze to his feet. I thought it best not to push him. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out he was going to be upset for a while. Why did he have to go and blame himself?

"What about you, Lloyd?" I asked.

"I've been living outside the village with my dad as far back as I can remember." He told me.

"I guess it makes sense why the mayor called you an outsider... Not that its right, but still."

"Yeah, I lived on the other side of the forest, just past the human ranch."

"Hey, look!" Genis called to us suddenly. Lloyd and I both turned our attention to the little half elf. "We've finally hit the Triet Desert!" He shouted out happily.

"I'm glad, but if the both of you keep yelling every couple of minutes, its going to attract monsters and bandits. I don't know about you, but I don't like unnecessary violence." What the hell was I saying? I was supposed to be feigning ignorance, not being a know-it-all. Raine would fill that occupational void later, I was sure.

"Oops, sorry," Lloyd said, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand in embarrassment. I just shook my head and kept walking forward, a dismissal. I really did hate confrontations with a passion. The only reason I knew how to fight was because my only friend at school, David, had insisted on teaching me karate as my only means of self preservation. I never would have believed it would come in handy. I had one more person to thank if I managed to figure out how to get back to them in the first place.

Having no memories of anywhere apart from the city, I had no idea what a desert would feel like other than it being extremely hot. It was nowhere near as bad as I had expected it to be. I guess I was just glad to be wearing shorts and a tank top.

"Gah!" Lloyd gasped, more than a bit short of breath. "I am sick of this desert," he complained. And now it began...

"Then why don't you take off your coat?" I asked him, raising my left eyebrow as an indication of my curiosity.

"Are you kidding?" Lloyd asked me while he stared like I had grown a new head.

"He never takes off his coat unless he's swimming or sleeping," Genis wisely informed me.

"I have a feeling there's about to be a third exception," I said, mirth finding its way into my eyes as a smile crept its way onto my face.

So, for six hours, Lloyd wouldn't shut up about how much he loathed deserts. Their temperature, to be precise.

"Why is it so hot here, anyway?" He asked at one point.

"According to legend, there is a gate that leads to Efreet. Its hot here because of his influence," I told him. I was too happy about not being a total dunce to realize we were in the middle of a Z-Skit and I had just stolen one of Genis's lines. Word for word, too!

"A gate that leads to Efreet? Could that be..." Lloyd said, putting two and two together and proving that he has some form of intellect aside from instinct.

"I'm sure that's the seal Colette's heading for," Genis assured Lloyd.

"Ah! That means Colette is in the area somewhere... Man, you both know a lot of stuff!" He said cheerfully.

"That's because I don't sleep in class like you do," he replied smugly.

"And you'd be surprised at what you can learn through years of travel," I gave as my excuse.

The walk to Triet from Iselia would take the average traveler a week and a half. We had been journeying for not even a full three days yet and had already gotten pretty far into the desert landscape. I wondered how much longer it would be before we saw civilization again. I didn't dare voice my thoughts in fear of sounding like a certain older teen walking slightly in front of me.

"How much longer are we going to have walk?" Lloyd whined for the umpteenth time in the last hour. My point proven...

"We should get there sometime in the next two days," Genis, unknowingly, answered both our questions. I hadn't realized how late it had gotten, but the sun was already beginning to set in the clear blue expanse above us, turning it a beautiful mixture of red, orange, and violet the farther out you looked.

"Maybe we should stop to set up camp now so we don't have to do it in the dark?" I suggested, hopeful. It was widely believed I hadn't been born a leader. I was always considered more of a guide, if anything.

"Good idea," Lloyd agreed immediately. He was probably tired of walking already, what with him having the attention span of a new born puppy and all. With a quick examination of our surroundings, I spotted a decently sized rock jutting out of the sand.

"Could we set up over there?" I asked, indicating my latest discovery. "There will be more protection against the sun tomorrow morning, and more protection from enemies tonight," I added for the sake of argument.

"Sounds like a plan," Genis said while Lloyd had already started to make his way over there. I think I lost him at 'protection from sun,' but I couldn't be sure.

We didn't have all that much to set up having not been prepared for a sudden banishment, so the three of us took out the blankets we'd managed to bring and layed them down on top of the sand. There wasn't much to use as firewood since there weren't any trees in the immediate area, but we managed to get a small flame going steadily thanks to planning ahead and bringing some dead trees with us before we hit the desert. Genis casting fire ball helped a lot as well. We sat in a comfortable quiet for a while, enjoying the fire in the now cold night, when Lloyd's stomach roared out to be fed. An embarrassed blush covered his cheeks when Genis and I laughed in perfect unison. After several rounds of laughter and Lloyd's face turning into a nice ripe, red tomato, our fits of laughter began to stop.

"My turn to make dinner?" I asked through a few small giggles I smothered with my hand when the object of our humor glared at me. I saw Genis attempt to nod his head, so I moved over to my small pack and rummaged for a minute until I got my desired result. I pulled out some bread, lettuce, tomato, and a few carefully placed pieces of cold chicken. I was going to make a slightly altered version of a blt, instead of bacon, I'd use egg. I cut six thin slices of wheat bread and layed them out side by side on my blanket. Next, I shredded half the head of lettuce and divided it up equally between the three of us (I secretly gave the two boys a lot more than myself since they weren't paying much attention to what I was doing). I chopped two slices of tomato and placed them on only one of the three sandwiches. I split the three eggs in half and set them on different spots on the lettuce and placed the piece of bread next to it on top.

Once finished, I called my masterpiece to attention. Lloyd lunged across the makeshift campsite and made to grab his meal, until I kicked him back and slapped his hands away. "Do you really want the one with tomato?" I asked, daring him to answer my rhetorical question. When receiving none, I grabbed the food Lloyd almost ate and handed it off to Genis. I turned back around and gave the one with extra lettuce to Lloyd and snatched the leftovers for myself.

"This is actually pretty good!" Genis told my through a large mouthful of the concoction.

"Yeah!" Lloyd agreed heartily, spewing food everywhere in the process.

After clearing my face of his chewed up food, I told them what it was they were eating. "It's just a blt with chicken instead of pork," I informed them quietly, a little shy after the compliments. Genis nodded, probably after taking note of the small change, and Lloyd continued to shove the rest of the food into his mouth. When he was finished, the sad look on his face almost made me laugh uncontrollably again.

"Here," I said as I held out all but four small bites of my portion.

"Are you sure? You didn't eat very much," Lloyd said as he eyed the substance longingly. I nodded once and pushed the food into his waiting hands.

"I was never one to eat very much."

With our stomachs no longer empty and surrounded by a comfortable heat, the two boys in the group began to doze off. Lloyd, as far as I could tell, was trying his best not to fall asleep. I could also tell it wasn't working like he wanted.

"Go ahead and go to sleep, you two. I don't mind being the night watch," I informed them with a small, understanding smile lifting the corners of my mouth.

"But you've been night watch every night since we left," Genis protested with a yawn.

"I also haven't been anywhere near collapse like the both of you have since we left. I'm used to not getting much sleep."

"I can't complain," Lloyd said as he rolled onto his side so he could use his arms as a pillow.

"Use him as an example,"I told Genis while gesturing with my head towards the remaining member of our group. "He doesn't have a problem with me staying awake," I said smugly, holding back the yawn that threatened to escape my lips.

"Fine, fine. You win," the silver haired pre-teen gave in. With the verbal battle lost, he turned away from me and fell unconscious within seconds. Lloyd was also sound asleep, snoring contentedly. At this point in the game, I sort of envied the both of them. Sure, they no longer had a village to return to, but they could still go to Dirks. Plus, they got to travel the world with their friends and family. I knew better now, of course, because the whole angel transformation was nothing but a hoax to get Martel a new body she didn't want. If it wasn't for the worlds joining and a new giant tree being born, this journey wouldn't be worth all the trouble.

XoXoX

Several hours had passed since I took up night watch for the third time in a row, and there hadn't been anything out of place. The fire had dimmed down to mere coals, leaving us warm but in complete darkness. I didn't mind at all; I was used to it like most other things here in Sylvarant. I was too busy waiting for the panic to hit. After all, if you woke up one day and found yourself in a fictional world, wouldn't you be scared or worried? It was only a matter of time before the reality of it all came crashing down on me, and I wanted to be alone when it did.

I heard quiet voices in the distance. My eyes snapped shut and I slowed my breathing, listening to whatever it was approach us.

"-get something good from those twerps, I wonder?" crap, the group was talking about us? I really hoped not.

"I'm not sure, but they look like pretty easy targets!" Another man jeered. This wasn't good. I looked over at the two boys that were on my right. Dammit! Both were sound asleep and showed no signs of waking anytime soon. I quickly crawled over to Lloyd and shook his shoulder, hard. Nothing happened aside from a slight stutter in his snoring. Genis wouldn't be of much help in hand-to-hand combat, so I didn't even bother waking him up. Thinking quickly, I grabbed one of the swordsman's weapons and held it tightly in front of me. If the bandits were armed, I didn't want to fight them with just my fists.

"Well, look what we have here!" One of the group of four exclaimed quietly. He probably figured it would be easier for them if they kept this little escapade quiet.

"Looks to me like this little girl wants to fight." Another of the group said, antagonistically. The bastard was trying to pick a fight. Did he not get to do it very often? I examined everyone who had come to rob us. All of them were large, wearing bandannas over their mouths, and had giant knifes in their hands. I gulped, silently praying for help from any higher being that might exist in this world. As long as Yggdrasil didn't come, I'd be much better off.

"If you give us all of your possessions, we might let you and your friends go without a fight," one of them, my guess was the leader, offered me. In response, I shifted my right foot back and slightly out, bracing myself for attack.

"Hahahaha!" the whispered laughter was haunting in the quiet and tense atmosphere. It was unnerving. That's why I barely blocked the first strike with Lloyd's wooden sword. For simple robbers, they certainly were fast. I twisted my left foot and angled myself to kick my attacker away from me, giving myself some room to move and protect the sleeping people behind me. Thankfully, it worked and I lunged forward and hit him roughly in the neck, knocking him unconscious. Pressure points came in handy every once in a while, I supposed.

I turned to my right and brought the weapon up just in time to block and oncoming dagger from stabbing me in the back. I pushed, and he pushed back, overpowering me with weight alone. One of his buddies came up from my left and tried to stab me in the neck. Key word, tried. I brought my matching arm up and away from the sword, blocking the blade with my upper arm. A searing pain in my tricep told me that the iron missed its mark. I near silent whine escaped my throat and the three fighters still moving laughed loudly in return.

They were too busy cracking up to notice that a certain magic user was waking up quickly. He looked at me from where he was, eyes wide, and then he was yelling as loudly in Lloyds ear to get up.

His eyes opened and he blinked a few times, disoriented. Then he, too, saw me on the ground with one of his swords in my right hand, and jumped to the rescue. Genis was in the middle of casting an earth spell, Lloyd was running towards where the fight had managed to get to. I got to my feet and threw the piece of wood in my hands to its owner and ducked under a lunge aimed at my gut. I punched with my right arm and hit my opponent in the ribs, hearing a satisfying crunch. I followed up with a swift kick to the face, knocking the foe to the ground. I leapt away quickly when Genis yelled stone blast. I looked over to where Lloyd was fighting and flinched when I saw his sword hit right in the middle of his wind pipe. That looked painful.

All four of the bandits were down just as the sun was starting to rise in the dark blue sky. The only two others that were awake ran up to me, and Genis examined my arm.

"Are you alright!" Lloyd questioned me, worry written all over his face.

"I'm fine," I lied uneasily. I whimpered when Genis gently tugged the now warm steel from my skin. I watched in shock as the crimson trickled down my arm and dripped onto the sandy landscape. I felt like throwing up at the site. I had never been a big fan of blood. It went along with my being unconfrontational. I looked back up to Lloyds face and knew instantly that he didn't believe me. Hell, I didn't believe me. I sighed softly. "Sorry for the trouble," I apologized. At the rate I was giving those out, I was going to turn into another Colette, I was absolutely certain.

"This is really deep," Genis informed me unnecessarily. Of course it was going to be deep. Half the fucking blade had been lodged into my arm. I was a miracle it hadn't severed anything on the way.

"I know,"I said instead, my throat tight in suppressed agony. "Can someone bring me my bag?" I asked as politely as I could manage. A few moments later, Lloyd appeared with my bag. I was lucky that it was filled with medical supplies. I rummaged for a minute and pulled out an apple gel and some bandaging. I opened the bottle filled with the red goo and poured it on my upper left arm and spread it thoroughly over the wound. Then Genis wrapped it snuggly in the white, soon to be red, fabric. Though still immensely painful, the gel was definitely helping some. I moved my arm experimentally, and instantly regretted the action as it sent an unwanted jolt up my arm. My eye twitched minutely in annoyance. I didn't like the idea of not being able to protect myself.

"Are you going to be able to fight?" Good ol' Lloyd and his hidden concern.

"It should be fine," I told him, unsure whether or not it was the truth. And the lecture would be coming in three... Two... One...

"What did you think you were doing fighting that many people by yourself!" and Lloyds spiky brown head just exploded.

"I tried to wake you up without making a ton of noise, but it didn't work. And Genis isn't all that good at close combat, no offense," I directed that last little bit at a now miffed half elf. I was walking on eggshells while trying to diffuse a very active bomb, which wasn't exactly the easiest of tasks.

"Fine." What?... "Just don't do it again," Lloyd ordered me sternly before storming back off to our campsite. Genis and I were quick to follow. At least the twelve year old didn't seem angry that I said he couldn't fight all that well.

We packed in silence and were, once again, on our way to the desert oasis called Triet.

XoXoX

The fourth day was already almost over, and even though we hadn't seen any hint of Triet, were were ecstatic. Up ahead was a firelight. Not many people were traveling from place to place with the world in its current crisis, so that only meant one thing.

"HEEEY!" Lloyd shouted halfway across the desert to his blonde haired friend, waving frantically. I smiled when to myself when she started running towards us, laughing all the way. I, too, laughed when the angel-to-be tackled Sylvarants future hero.

"You d-dummy,"Lloyd stuttered on the ground.

"Sorry," Colette said from on top of the red clad teen. "I'm sorry Lloyd," she said repeatedly. I looked over to where Genis was still gasping for air under his large pack. He had a goofy smile on his face that was so big it may end up staying that way.

Lloyd and Colette stayed on the ground until Raine and Kratos made it over to us. Genis ran up and hugged his older sister and I was looking at my shoes that had suddenly grown much more interesting. I felt the seraph's glare, but didn't acknowledge it, letting the reunion occur. I was thankful when Lloyd spoke up and introduced me.

"Colette, Professor, Kratos," he pointed to each person in turn. "This is Katie." This time, he pointed at me, and I still refused to look at anyone.

"She helped us back at the village," Genis elaborated once detached from his sister.

"Help with what, exactly?" Raine asked, eyeing me with suspision plain on her face. Maybe it ran in the family.

"The Desians attacked Iselia," Lloyd told the three through clenched teeth. It was never going to be an easy subject for him to talk about. From his other side, I heard Colette gasp in horror.

"Was it because of us?" the girl asked with dread.

"No," Lloyd answered right away, quick to correct her mistake. "We-" Just like I wasn't going to let him admit his.

"I was new to the village and was exploring the woods. I went to the human ranch by mistake," I was going to have to do some major BSing now. "I spoke with one of the people being held there, and the Desians said I broke the treaty. They attacked and the three of us fought them in order to prevent the entirety of Iselia burning to the ground. They mayor banished the three of us because there's a risk we're on the Desian hit-list." I alternating side glances between Lloyd and Genis, hoping neither one of them would correct me, blowing the cover story.

"What are you saying!" Lloyd all but shouted at me. God, him and his dwarven vow of honesty."Katie isn't the one who went to the human ranch, Genis and I did,"he confessed willingly. The actions was answered with a smack to the back of the head from Raine. Genis recieved the same. I was unpleasantly surprised when I felt a similar pain in the back of my head. I called her on it.

"What was that for?" I asked angrily, doing my best to pass it off as mild curiousity.

"Lying is _not_ the best way to make a good first impression," she told be sternly.

"I didn't want them to get in trouble for doing something morally correct," I admitted, voice hished and head bowed.

"Morally correct?" Holy crap, Kratos can talk...

"I was friends with one of the prisoners," Genis informed them quietly, smoothly moving behind me. I guess I became the little guys meat shield.

"It doesn't matter what the catalyst was," I said, nolonger submissive. "All that matters is that the village is safe from further destruction and we can't go back to enjoy it."

"I want to hear the details, but not now. It's cold right now. We should head back to the fire." Raine walked away. Her three students were fast to follow, and I wasn't far behind them. Kratos was the last to make the short trek back to the temporary campsite.

The three of us who hadn't been there ten minutes ago pulled out our blankets and set the out like we had done the night before. There was a long, uncomfortable and tense silence that came with the reliving of past events. I felt eyes on me and knew Kratos was glaring at me. I didn't show my nervousness on my face, but it was there and he could probably smell it like a blood hound.

Hours passed and I was the only one awake.

"Why are you without a weapon?" Never mind. Kratos was awake, as always during the first leg of the journey.

"I'm not," I told him, pulling out the dagger in my bag that I'd forgotten Phaidra had given me. I threw it towards him so he could examine it further.

"It is unused."

"I fight using martial artes, not with blades." I hope he left it at that.

"Hmph," Yay for classic sounds of dismissal! He tossed me my knife back from across the fire and looked back up to the illusion of stars in the sky. They resembled the ones I was used to not seeing. It would have probably brought me a great sense of familiarity if I hadn't been raised in the city, surrounded by constant lights. I instead focused solely on the bright orange flicker in front of me. My eyes dimmed at the memory of my life turning to the hell it represented.

I missed my thick headed parents, all my siblings, the sheltered life I'd lead... Everything about my past life. I was grateful I hadn't wound up at an orphanage like so many other children do, but how my uncle raised me isn't normal. It isn't even legal. Maybe after being here for a while, I could work up the courage to call child services?

... No, not even then. It would do me little good. Whenever he'd hit me, it hadn't left marks that lasted more than a few hours. He'd had me cornered there. It's for that reason, and probably that reason alone, that I had yet to have a mental breakdown. Maybe this was my way to escape? It didn't matter right now. I managed to turn my thoughts off and stare at the colors in front of me.

**XoXoX**

**Does anyone recognise the scene with Colette and Lloyd? It's from the anime (ova?). I don't think I've read one yet where Lloyd wasn't taken to the Renegade base, so I thought this would be a nice change of pace... Please excuse the bad rhyming. Sorry if the length isn't quite satisfactory, but I felt it a good place to stop. I don't really want to leave you all with cliff-hangers in the beginning. Please R&R and I'll see you all next chapter. JA MATA NE!**

**~Nobody-XV**


	5. Very Important Note

**I'm sorry to say this, dear readers, but I need to take a break from fanfiction for a while. Life is getting extremely complicated right now. My grandpa died just a few short hours ago and my dad had a heart attack and can now bleed out in less than five minutes and die. All in all, not a very joyous 4th of July. I'm sorry. Remember that this break is only temporary and I will continue my storied after taking some time to compose myself. Thank you for your understanding and patience.**

**~Nobody-XV**


	6. One Last Message

**Hello to all my readers. I regret having to say this, but recently I've gotten a large surge of favorites and alerts in my inbox, so I don't think I have much choice. All of my stories are on a near permanent hiatus at the moment. My dad had a heart attack on the 4Th of July and died in the hospital a mere three weeks ago. Right now I'm in a mini depression and don't feel I can continue writing at this point in time. I apologize to all my fans, both old and new, and hope that you will forgive me and be patient. I will do my absolute best to update when I can, but it won't be for quite a while from the way things are going. You have my sincerest apologies.**

**~Nobody-XV**


End file.
